Hi all,
It seems like only some phones may have this bug, but it is a significant number. See this thread:
Issue 3006 - android - Google credentials don't unlock phone after failing too many pattern attempts - Project Hosting on Google Code
FYI: entering the username without the @gmail will NOT work; I've played with this bug over and over again without success; luckily I know my lock pattern and was trying to figure this out just in case I do forget my lock pattern at some point in the future;
as to someone's question - why someone would want to lock their phone: some of us use our phones for business purposes, thus there is sensitive data in there that needs to be protected. Anyone that finds a solution gets a gold star from me. =)